Boxcar
by The Omniscient Bookseller
Summary: A little story about how Specs and Dutchy met long before either of them was a newsie. Rather fluffy, if I say so myself. At least compared to my normal stuff. Written in honor of STAGE!


Not mine.

Notes: Happy (belated) birthday Stage! In your honor, I've written not only Specs and Dutchy, but also non-angst! Well, it's intended to be non-angst. We'll see how it goes. ^_^

~*~

A narrow stream of sunlight illuminated the dusty corner of the boxcar. A slim figure slipped inside and closed the door swiftly but as silently as possible. Its protests were faint, but the figure stood tense by the entrance for a full five minutes before sitting against the back wall. 

With a series of clanks and whirrs, the train began to move. When the boy's eyes adjusted to the near pitch blackness, he was surprised to see the pale gleam of another face from across the car. Cloth rustled as it was drawn back and a hat was placed on top of a mop of brown hair. 

"Hey"

"Hey"

Both boys looked like they were ready to run at any second. Tension stretched the musty air thin.

"What're you doin' here?" There was a long pause as one by one, lies were considered and discarded.

"Running away. You?"

"I live heah." A slight smile traced the features of the dark-haired boy as the impossibly blue eyes across from him widened. 

"Here?"

"Well, not exactly. Doesn' mattah what train it is. I been in most of 'em. They're pretty much da same." Another pause filled the tiny car, amplified by the jouncing and rumbling of the train. 

"Who are ya, anyway?"

"I'm Alex D-

"Ya can call me Specs." Although his expression and his words were friendly, his manner served as the warning he had intended. First lesson of the streets: Don't let anyone know who you are.

"Nice to meet you…Specs…" the smile grew rapidly into a chuckle at the runaway's nervousness. Soon, both of them were laughing louder than was probably wise. 

"So wheah you goin'?"

"The city." 

"The _city_," he repeated, moving halfway across the floor to get a better look at his companion who squirmed bit at the attention and dropped his gaze.

"Yeah."

~*~

Alex stumbled and fell, wincing as his knees and hands scraped the stone. Glancing up, he saw the boxcar door sliding shut. He was really on his own now. Exactly what he'd wanted, right?

Inside the car, Specs leaned his head back against the wall and sighed, closing suddenly stinging eyes.

Making a fast decision, Alex began to jog towards the station.

~*~

He trudged inside, flicking his sweaty hair behind his ear. A train was stopped ahead, on the other side of the track. He figured it would be there for another five minutes or so. Keeping an eye on it, he slumped against a pillar to rest. It must have been in the nineties that day. Why couldn't he have thought to run away in some other season? With a sigh, he forced himself up to look for some water. 

A scream shrilled through the thick air, weak and distorted by distance. Across the station, two policemen were dragging a slight figure out of the last boxcar. One knocked him to the ground with a blow that sent both hat and glasses flying. The other lifted him up again, and all three disappeared into the crowd.

Alex began to run.

~*~ -Time Passage- ~*~

"Hey, guys, I think we got ourselves anothah newsie! I found 'im on the streets today; said 'e just got outta the refuge." Pie Eater's words brought everyone's attention to the front of the room, where he was standing with an arm around a skinny, scared looking boy.

The boy shifted his weight from one foot to another as what seemed like a million pairs of eyes looked up at him. They were all different colors, shapes, and sizes, but each of them was probing and curious. He looked away from one suspicious pair and caught sight of a wide, surprised looking blue one that looked incredibly like-

"_Alex?"_ A tense, expectant silence settled over the room.

"Specs?"

__

Should I hug him or something? After all, we only went through a train ride together, thought Specs.

"Hey, I been…keeping something for ya." Just as nervous as before, he noted, even though his accent fit in now. He waited as the other boy stood and rooted under his bunk for a second before pulling something out. A murmur passed around the room; the other boys had seen it before, but hadn't known who it was connected with. He approached, offering the object shyly.

His old black fedora.

Specs grinned and took it, then was caught by surprise as he was enveloped in a hug.

__

After all, we went through so much more than a train ride together, thought Dutchy.

~*~

My god.

That's definitely as close to fluff as I go. *Winces* angst is much better….


End file.
